‘I was just wondering how you two know the baker?’ I said, before he could take a moment to think I’d been checking him out – which most certainly wasn’t the case. Obviously. I’d already seen a couple of other women doing so but Lorcan didn’t appear to have noticed.

‘Primary school.’

‘Really?’ I asked, more interested than I wanted to be. ‘I’m not in contact with anyone from primary school.’ To be fair, I wasn’t in contact with anyone from secondary school or university either, but I’d had my reasons at the time.

‘I think it’s probably easier if you come from a small village like ours. Some people move away but visit regularly, like Patrick and I, but some have lived their whole lives there. When there’s only ten of you in the class, it’s hard not to form a bond.’

‘Ten?’

‘Yep.’

‘Wow.’

‘More in yours, then?’

‘About thirty odd.’

‘Well, yeah, that would make it more difficult to bond like we all did.’

I nodded and looked down, an unexpected wash of emotion rolling over me. I jumped as one large hand touched my own. ‘Maddie? Are you all right?’ His words were soft, concerned. The gentle lilt of his accent wrapping around the deep voice felt as soothing as the hot chocolate had done a few moments ago. The noise around me receded and suddenly it felt as if it were just me and Lorcan. Alone. I looked up and met the intense eyes, felt the comforting weight of his hand on my wrist.

‘I…’

He moved his head, leant a little closer, the line between his brows deepening as his frown grew.

A baby’s piercing tired and hungry scream shattered the moment, and the world immediately zoomed back in on me. I dropped my gaze, focused for a moment on the warmth of his hand on my arm and then moved my hands, placing them together on my lap.

‘Maddie?’

‘Yes?’ I asked, forcing normality into my voice as I locked those memories back in the box they had momentarily escaped from.

‘Where did you just go?’ he asked, his voice still soft, his eyes locked on me.

I looked around and then back at him, confused. ‘Nowhere.’

He lifted his hand and very gently touched my temple with his index finger. ‘No, I mean where did you go in here?’

His navy eyes had an almost hypnotic quality and for a split second I nearly told him. But then I remembered where I was, and who he was.